


The Handyman

by Dextrousleftie



Category: Original Work
Genre: Anal Sex, M/M, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-13
Updated: 2014-11-05
Packaged: 2018-02-04 11:19:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1777186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dextrousleftie/pseuds/Dextrousleftie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Devon needs to hire a handyman for his family summer house.  But Frank Miller isn't entirely what he had in mind. Does Frank have the tools not only to fix the house but also Devon's broken heart after a painful break-up?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You're Hired

A/N: Hey, everybody. Hope you're all having a great summer so far! How about a comment or two for this new story of mine, pretty please? I would appreciate it a lot! :) -DL 

 

Devon Landall pinned the 'Help Wanted' flier to the note board in the lobby of the local grocery store. In neatly typed letters, the notice read: 'Help Wanted. I am looking for a person with hands-on experience as a handyman, preferably someone who also has some gardening experience as well, to work full-time for a family at their summer vacation home. Please call this number.' Under this statement was his cell phone number. He sighed, hoping that someone called. He wanted to hire someone locally, someone who could drive out to their family summer home every day and take care of the place. Devon had absolutely no experience in maintaining a house or grounds, and there was plenty of work for an experienced handyman.

He went into the grocery store to stock up on supplies, smiling and waving at some of the locals who greeted him. His family was fairly well known around here, though it had been at least five years since any of the Landall family had used their lavish summer home. Devon's father had been too ill and elderly to be able to make it up here anymore, and he'd died last winter. He'd left the place jointly to Devon and his sister Amber, and this summer they'd decided to come up here for the summer, mostly to get away from their problems.

His sister Amber was dealing with a nasty divorce; she and her husband Carl had split acrimoniously, and it had taken almost two years for the divorce to be finalized. Now that it had finally gone through, Amber had wanted to come to the summer house to get away from her own, which was full of memories both good and bad. Devon's reason for wanting to get away was his own break-up with his boyfriend of over three years, Thad. Thad had been a horribly selfish creature, and Devon wasn't really sure why he'd put up with him for so long. Well, Thad HAD been very hot. Was he that shallow? Christ, apparently he was. 

Devon shook his head as he got in line to check out and pay for his groceries. He vowed silently to go looking for a different type of man this time. No more vain, preening, selfish pretty boys. Somebody serious and intelligent and strong. There had to be a guy like that out there somewhere, right?

 

He pushed the cart out into the parking lot and started toward his Subaru Forrester. As he went, he heard a high, piping voice call eagerly: "Uncle Dev! Uncle Dev!"

He turned to see his seven-year-old nephew Josh hurrying toward him. Amber and Josh had gone up the street to look over the clothes in the one tiny clothing store, but Devon didn't see any sign of his sister. He frowned.  
"Josh? Where's your Mom?" he asked.

"She's comin'! Uncle Dev, I met a friend!" Josh said eagerly, stopping in his tracks and reaching out to grab his uncle's arm. "Wanna meet him?"

Devon smiled. He was glad that Josh had already made a friend. "Sure, buddy," he replied.

The boy turned and waved, calling loudly: "Hey, Frank! Come on! My Uncle Dev wants to meet you!"

After a moment, someone came strolling down the parking lot toward them. Devon felt a chill race down his spine when he saw that this was a very grown-up sort of person, not a little boy like he'd imagined. "That's Frank," his nephew said confidently.

"Uhh, yeah," Devon began carefully. "Where did you meet him, Joshie?"  
"Out in front of the store," Josh replied. "He was hangin' around. Guess what, Uncle Dev? He's got a GUN!" the boy cried excitedly.

Devon gasped in horror, his eyes widening. The man coming toward them halted in his tracks, cocking his head to the side a little. He was tall, with a lean, rather hollow-cheeked face that was weathered and tanned. His face was nearly expressionless, his eyes lidded and half in shadow under heavy lids. His dark hair was close-cropped, and he wore a battered jacket over a dark-blue t-shirt and worn jeans. There was a casual, panther-like grace to his stance that made the hairs start to stand up on Devon's neck. Who was this dangerous stranger? What had his nephew gotten them into?

"Frank!" Josh cried. "This is my Uncle Dev!"

The man studied him. "Hey, Uncle Dev," he said in a slow, quiet voice that didn't mitigate Devon's uneasiness at all. 

"Uh, hi," he replied tentatively. "I'm sorry if my nephew dragged you over here.." he went on, shifting from foot-to-foot. 

"It's no big deal," the man replied. "The boy wanted me to meet you."

Josh grinned toothlessly, showing off the space where one of his baby teeth had recently fallen out. "Yesh!" he cried. "I wanted you to meet my new friend, Uncle Dev!"

"That's great, Josh. It's nice to meet you...err...Frank," Devon began swiftly. "But we have to go..."

A nod. "I figured," the man said, and one corner of his mouth crooked up a little. Devon realized, to his shock, that the dangerous-looking stranger knew how uneasy he was and found it faintly amusing. 

Josh's face fell. "But I wanna stay and talk to my new friend, Uncle Dev!" He protested.

"We can't, Josh. I've got frozen stuff. We need to get home so I can put it in the freezer," Devon explained, waving a hand at the cart. 

"But, Uncle Devvvv," Josh's voice had taken on a decided whine.

"Josh," the man named Frank said.

When the boy looked at him, the man nodded his head at Devon. "You have to do what your uncle tell you to," the man said sternly. 

Josh looked crestfallen. "But..." he whimpered, looking like he might start crying at any moment.

The man held up a single finger. "No 'buts'," he replied.

Josh's shoulders sagged, but he subsided. Devon was in total awe. He'd never seen anyone handle Josh this well, not even his father. "Will I see you again later?" Josh asked hopefully, blinking back tears.  
"You might. I don't know," the man replied quietly. 

Josh looked like he might start crying again. Just then, his mother came hurrying down the parking lot with several bags in her hands. "Oh, you guys got here okay?" she called cheerfully. "Thanks for escorting Josh, Frank, You're a lifesaver."

Stunned, Devon stood there gaping. His sister knew this stranger? "Oh, hey, Devon. Are you ready to go?" she added.

"Uh, yeah. Amber," he hissed as she approached him. "Who IS he?"

"What? Who? Oh, Frank," she said, realizing who he was talking about. "Frank Miller, this is my brother Devon. I met Frank about what...eight years ago? The last time I came with Dad to the house to spend the summer. I'd just found out I was pregnant with Josh, and since Carl couldn't come with me Dad and I came up here alone. Frank's family are locals, or they were anyway...I heard your brother moved to Seattle?" she went on, glancing at the stranger.

He nodded. "He didn't want the house when Mom and Dad died. So I came up here to live in it."

"That's right. Anyway, Dev, Franks' parents were still alive the last time I was here. His mother was really sweet. She invited me over for tea and cookies, to talk about my pregnancy. She gave me lots of great advice. I met Frank there one day. He was home on leave at the time."

"Leave?" Devon repeated.

"From the Army. You're not in the Army anymore, are you, Frank?"

He shook his head. "Not for a year now. I decided to retire when my parents died."

"It was so sad! They were killed in a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer. Anyway, when I saw him outside the clothing store, I stopped to talk to him about them. And Josh and him hit it off right away, so Frank said he'd watch Josh while I shopped. Josh wanted to introduce him to you, Dev, so I let them come on ahead of me."

"Oh, I see," Devon said, feeling relieved that his sister knew this person and that Frank wasn't some random stranger that Josh had picked up.

"Did you get the notice put up?" Amber asked him next.

"Yes, I did. I hope we can get somebody to respond to it," Devon told her.  
Amber turned to Frank. "We're looking for a handyman/gardener for the summer house," she explained. "Do you know anybody who would fit the bill? Somebody local?" 

He frowned slightly. "You're looking for a handyman? For the Landall summer house?" he repeated slowly.

"That's right. Do you know anybody?"

"Actually, I do," he replied steadily. He reached up to tap himself on the chest lightly. "Me. I worked as a handyman before I joined the Army. It's how I made money in high school, and how I bought my truck. I could use some spending money," he added.

Amber beamed at him. "What a great idea! Dev, now we won't have to worry about somebody answering the ad!"

Devon wasn't feeling so very gleeful about the whole thing, but he held his tongue as Josh squealed and glomped on Frank. The boy threw him arms around the tall man's waist. "Frank's gonna come to work for us!" he chortled. 

The tall man reached down to lightly touch the top of the boy's reddish curls. "I guess so, kid," he said. 

"Yay!" Josh yelped, still hugging the tall man. 

Amber was laughing. Devon sighed, giving in. It was obvious that both his sister and nephew wanted this guy Frank to be their handyman. Who was he to argue? He'd just have to trust in his sister's good judgment where people were concerned, and hope that they didn't all get murdered in their beds.  
"Anyway we should go," he said hurriedly. "I've got groceries to put away. Are you ready, guys?"

"Yes. Come on, Joshie. You can hug Frank again later," Amber said in amusement.

Her son waved at Frank as he pulled away. "See ya later, Frank!" he called merrily.

"See you, kid," Frank replied laconically. He watched them get into the Subaru, and lifted a hand briefly as Devon drove out of the grocery store parking lot.

"Is something wrong, Dev?" Amber asked him after he'd driven in silence for a few minutes.

He sighed. "I'm just not sure hiring that guy as our handyman is a good idea, Amber," he replied shortly.

"Why?" she said, concern in her voice. "Frank's a nice guy, I swear."

"Can you really be sure of that? You only met him briefly, once, eight years ago," Devon pointed out. 

"That's true. But I KNOW he's a good person because Josh likes him," his sister said calmly. "You have to admit, Dev, that my son is never wrong about people. And he took a liking to Frank Miller on sight. I've never seen him befriend anyone else so quickly, in fact. That right there tells me that Frank is a good guy, and somebody we can trust."

He didn't know how to refute her argument. His nephew liked people, but the boy was a great judge of character. He could remember clearly Josh taking an instant dislike to a seemingly sweet-as-pie neighbor lady that had just moved in across the street - even though everybody else had thought she was great. Then it came out that this woman was abusing and neglecting her children, including locking them in dark closets for hours as a punishment for being 'bad'. And that wasn't the only example. Josh could unerringly pick out the good people out of any group, and would glom onto them with enthusiasm. His reaction to Frank Miller pretty much guaranteed that the man was a good person, even if he looked rather scary.

He admitted defeat. "All right, Amber. Since he has the Josh Seal of Approval, I'll try not to worry anymore. But you have to admit, he's kinda scary-looking."

"I suppose he is. And he was in the Army for a long time, so he's probably pretty dangerous. But not to us, Dev. Just to guys who were shooting at him."

"Yeah. I'll try not to let him make me nervous. Since I suppose we'll be seeing a lot of him, now that he's going to be our handyman for the summer."

"You'll be fine, Dev. I'm sure that Frank will grow on you."


	2. Getting Right to Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Franks' first day as the handyman

The next morning, Devon was out in front of the house watering the flower patches with a hose. He knew there was a sprinkler system, but he didn't know where the switch was to turn it on. He failed miserably at maintenance, he thought with a grimace. He lived in an apartment, so he'd never had to do any of those jobs himself. If the sink sprung a leak, he called his landlord. And a nice gang of Hispanic gentlemen tended the flower beds around the apartment building. He hadn't even been able to grow a single houseplant in his apartment; he'd forgotten to water it and it had gone brown. 

There were a lot of tasks that needed to be done around the house; there'd been no handyman to take care of the place since before his father had stopped coming here every summer. The house had had an elderly year-round caretaker, but the old man had retired and Devon's father hadn't hired a replacement. So the sink in the kitchen leaked, the stairs creaked in a way that was rather alarming when they climbed them, and some of the outlets sparked dangerously when they tried to plug things in. The garden around the house was a weed-grown wild land by now, and Devon was pretty sure that he was mostly watering weeds at this point. But he couldn't just let everything die. 

He heard the roar of an engine, and looked up to see an old pickup truck pulling up the dirt driveway toward the house. It stopped near his Subaru, and Devon saw Frank Miller get out of the truck. The man was wearing a variation on the outfit he'd worn yesterday, i.e. worn jeans, a t-shirt, and a leather jacket, but this time he also wore a battered cowboy hat. He saw Devon standing holding the hose, and he reached up to push his hat back a little on his forehead. 

"Hey, Mr. Landall," he drawled.

"Good morning, Mr. Miller," Devon replied.

The slightest of smiles crooked the long mouth. "It's just Frank," he said.

"Then you can call me Devon. When somebody calls me Mr. Landall I start looking around for my father."

A nod. "I'll do that. Anyway, I thought I'd get started right away, seeing as I get the feeling that you have a lot of work for me. This place hasn't had a handyman in a while, has it?"

"Not for at least six years. The guy who used to look after it year-round retired, and Dad never replaced him. And yes, I have tons of stuff for you to do. I think that the caretaker had gotten too old to really do a lot of the maintenance stuff anyway, even before he retired. The house is falling apart in places."

"All right. What's the most urgent job?"

"The sink in the kitchen. I had to put a bucket under the pipe, it leaks so badly. I empty it at least once a day. Do you know anything about plumbing?"

"A fair bit. I brought my tools in case there weren't any here," Frank turned and opened the door of his truck's cab again, pulling out a big red toolkit. He turned back around to Devon. "Lead the way," he said.

Devon replied: "Just let me turn off this hose. Then I'll take you to the kitchen."

Frank waited patiently while he went and turned off the hose, then coiled it neatly on the hook next to the spigot. He came back and waved a hand at Frank. The other man followed him into the house, which had been built to look like a rustic log cabin. It was anything but, of course; their family had once had a lot of money, and their summer house was large, comfortable, well-furnished, and elegant. Most of the family money had dried up during the stock market crash five years ago; just about the time his dad had died. But since they owned the summer house free and clear, and there was enough money left to pay the taxes on it, he and Amber had been able to keep it. They just hadn't had the time or energy to come up here until this summer.

 

He led the way across the large open living room with it's comfortable, slightly overstuffed furniture, to the door that led into the large kitchen. The kitchen had granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and a flagstone floor. It had been completely remodeled almost a decade ago. The sink was under a wide set of windows in the far wall, and he opened the pine cabinet doors under it to reveal a white plastic tub set under a leaking pipe. The tub was a quarter full of water already. "See? Pretty bad."

"Yeah," Frank set the toolkit on the flagstone floor and knelt down to stare intently at the pipe. "Looks like it might be leaking at the seal. I'll check it out."

"I'll leave you to it," Devon told him. "I should start breakfast anyway, because Amber and Josh will be up soon. Are you hungry, Frank?" he added. 

Frank looked faintly surprised. "I could eat," he acknowledged. "But you don't have to feed me, Devon."

"I know I don't, but I want to. Is an omelet okay with you?"

"That'll be great. Thanks," Frank turned back to the sink, pulling a pipe wrench out of his toolkit. 

 

Devon left him to his work, going over to the fridge to pull out a carton of eggs, a green pepper, a box of mushrooms, some shredded cheese, and the carton of milk. He got a bowl out of the cupboard and a whisk from the utensil drawer, and set to work making breakfast for four people. he was happy to do so; Devon had always liked to cook, and to take care of people. He morbidly suspected one of the reasons that he'd stayed with Thad for so long was because his ex-boyfriend had wanted to be constantly taken care of. He'd just been a big, pretty baby. 

Devon grimaced as he whipped eggs up with some milk in the bowl. He definitely needed a boyfriend who wasn't anything like Thad. He didn't want any more babies. Well, maybe a REAL baby, if he could ever find somebody stable and grown-up to love him. He adored Josh; he wouldn't mind having one of his own eventually. But it didn't seem like that would be happening anytime soon. This small Montana town wasn't crawling with eligible gay guys. Hell, it wasn't crawling with eligible STRAIGHT guys even! He'd just have to wait until the summer was over, and he went back home, to get out on the dating circuit again.

Devon chopped green peppers and folded them and mushrooms into the egg mix. He heated up a pan on the stove, and poured a dollop of the mix into it. He heard Frank moving around behind him, making small clinking sounds as he did whatever mysterious things he was doing with the pipe wrench under the sink. Finally, Devon heard him say: "The seal is leaking. I'll go into town and pick up a new one at the hardware store a bit later. Once I change it out, no more leak."

Devon flipped an omelet on a plate and turned to him. "That's great," he said happily. "That leak has been driving me crazy. Once we eat breakfast, could you take a look at the staircase? The boards creak so bad I keep waiting for my foot to go through one of them when I climb them."

"Yeah, I can do that," Frank rose to his feet. 

"Okay. Sit down at the table for now. You can have this first omelet, since Amber and Josh aren't up yet." He carried the plate over to the scrubbed pine wooden table, setting it down.

Frank came over and sat in the chair in front of the plate, picking up a fork. "Smells good," he remarked. 

"Thank you. I like to cook," Devon said, turning back to the stove to make more omelets. 

He heard eating sounds behind him. "Tastes good, too," Frank said, making him feel a spurt of pleasure. "Better than the diner in town."

Devon smiled at this praise. It was nice to have someone give him praise for his caretaking efforts - Thad never had, taking everything he did for granted. Just then, he heard a loud, rambunctious voice cry: "Frank, Frank!" as his nephew Josh burst into the kitchen and reacted to see the handyman sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast.

 

"Morning, kid," Frank drawled laconically.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Josh crowed happily.

"Josh, sit down at the table. I'm making omelets," Devon told him.  
The boy did as he was told, crawling up onto a chair so that he could chatter away at Frank. 

Devon set a glass in front of Josh and filled it with orange juice. "Drink that," he told the boy. 

Josh sipped away the juice while Devon put an omelet on a plate and set it in front of his nephew. Then he poured a cup of coffee and handed it to Frank, before going back to the stove to make breakfast for himself and Amber. Josh was busy enough eating that his chatter had died down for the moment. 

 

"Oh, good morning, Frank," Amber's voice said as his sister entered the kitchen.

"Morning, Amber," the handyman replied quietly.

"Thank you, Dev," she said gratefully as he handed her a plate of food and a cup of coffee. 

He got some food and coffee for himself and joined everyone at the table. 

“Frank looked at the sink. He said he needs to buy a seal for the pipe at the hardware store, then it will be fixed when he changes it out,” Devon told his sister happily. “No more leak! Isn't that great?”

She grinned. “It is,” she agreed. “Thanks, Frank. That leak’s been driving us nuts.”

“It’s no problem,” he replied laconically. “It’s my job.”

“It’s so good to have a handyman around here. I was afraid that this place would start falling down on our heads soon.”

“I’ll get it fixed up,” Frank said. “I’m taking a look at the stairs as soon as I’m done eating.”

“Oh, you are?! That’s wonderful! The creaking scares me,” Amber said fervently. 

“Can I look too, Frank?” Josh piped up hopefully. 

 

Devon winced silently, waiting for the handyman to turn the boy down. But to his astonishment, Frank nodded. “You can hold my tools for me, kid.”

“Yay!” Josh yelped, waving his fork in the air happily. 

Amber was smiling at Frank, pleased that he was being kind to her son. Devon looked from one to the other, and began to suspect that his sister was a bit smitten with their new handyman. Now why did this thought make a twinge of unhappiness run through him? 

He shrugged off this feeling, determined to be happy for his sister meeting someone, especially after her painful divorce. He ate his breakfast, while Josh chattered away at Frank and the handyman sipped a cup of coffee without saying much else. Finally, Frank set down his mug. "I'll just go and look at those stairs, now," he said. "Thanks for breakfast."

"You're welcome," Devon replied, as Josh leapt to his feet. 

"I'll come hold your tools, Frank!" he cried.

The handyman and the boy departed for the living room, after Frank picked up his red box of tools. Amber watched them go, smiling. "I'm glad to see that Josh has a new friend," she remarked. "And that Frank is patient with him. I was afraid that Josh would be lonely while we were up here all summer."

"Yes, it's good that he's found someone to talk to," Devon agreed, “Even if he is a grown-up and not a kid. Although I'd like him to meet some kids his own age..." 

"So would I. Here's hoping that he will. But until then, he can follow Frank around the house. I hope he doesn't drive Frank crazy."

 

Amber got to her feet and began to clear the table. When Devon would have joined her, she waved him off. "You made breakfast, let me clean up," she told him.

He subsided at the table, knowing it would make her happy to do the cleaning up. "What do you think of Frank?" he asked after a moment's silence.

She looked at him over her shoulder in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I don't know," he said vaguely. "I guess he seems like a nice guy. Not exactly handsome or anything, but I suppose he might be kind of sexy..."

Amber stared at him, then began to laugh. "Devon, are you trying to set me up with the handyman?" She asked, her eyes dancing.

He shrugged uncomfortably. "I might be. After all, you need to get back on the horse after your divorce..."

She shook her head. "This sounds like the plot of a bad romance novel. Divorced, heartbroken woman finds love in the arms of a rugged soldier turned handyman, and they live happily ever after in the mountains of Montana!"

He had to admit that that did sound pretty implausible. "Well, you never know," he pointed out.

She giggled. "Seriously, Dev, that's sweet. I'm glad that you're thinking of me. But Frank's not really my type. I'm afraid I like my men more outgoing and funny, less the brooding, quiet type. He'd be perfect for you, though, if he were gay."

Devon nearly spit out the sip of coffee that he'd just taken. "Are you serious?!" he spluttered when he could speak.

She grinned, leaning up against the sink as she crossed her arms over her breasts. "Yes, I am. I know you're a caretaker, Dev, but what you really need is a man who can take care of himself, but who appreciates a little pampering once in awhile. Somebody strong and self-sufficient, who adores you silently. Somebody who appreciates you and everything you do for him. Frank strikes me as the kind of guy who'd be like that. Too bad he's not gay."

Devon slowly closed his mouth. Maybe his sister was right. Maybe that was the kind of man he should look for once he went home. "Yeah," he said slowly, "Too bad he's not gay..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Such a handy handyman...

He heard hammering when he went into the living room a little later. Amber had gone outside to look over the ragged, pathetic excuses for flowerbeds. She thought she might be able to identify some of the flowers, better than he could, anyway. Devon was thinking of sunning himself on the back deck, just lazing around in one of the big, comfortable wooden deck chairs back there.

He saw Frank about halfway up the staircase, hammering a nail into the riser expertly. Just behind him, Josh's small figure crouched like a little shadow, more nails held in his chubby fist for when Frank needed them. Devon's lips twitched a little at this tableau. "How's it going?" he called over the pounding.

Frank hit the last blow, then turned to look at him over his shoulder. "Fair," he replied laconically. "We're about half done."

"That's good. When you're completely done, why don't you and Josh come out on the back deck and have some lemonade? I made it myself last night."

"Lemonade! Frank, you want some lemonade?" Josh asked eagerly.

"Sure, why not?" Frank grunted.

"Good," Devon smiled at them both. "I'll see you guys in a little bit."

He went back into the kitchen to get the pitcher of lemonade and some glasses from the cupboard. He put all of it onto a tray, along with a plate of cookies, and carried it out onto the back deck of the house. He set it on the table with the striped umbrella, then wandered over to the nearest deck chair. He stripped off his shirt, grimacing at his own pallor. He'd brought sun block out with him - he didn't want to fry like an egg on the sidewalk in Phoenix. He slathered the cream onto the skin of his torso and arms, not forgetting his face. It would be nice to get a little bit of a tan. It might help him when he went back out into the dating world.

 

He stretched out on the chair, turning his face up to the sun with a happy sigh. It was so nice to just lounge around doing nothing. Fortunately, both he and Amber had inherited enough money from their father(along with this house) that they could afford to take three months off of work, and he knew he was lucky. He worked as an independent consultant for a PR firm, so he wasn't on a set schedule anyway. He could just step back into his job when he went home at the end of the summer. But for now, he was going to enjoy a little idleness and leisure time. 

He lay with his eyes closed, basking in the warmth like a cat. He supposed that he'd get tired of this if all he had to do was lay around and do nothing, but as a break from real life it was wonderful. Here he could forget any of his troubles or cares...not that he had that many of them. Sure, he was between boyfriends. But other than that, he had friends and family who loved him and a good job. He had very few complaints. 

 

He drowsed for an indeterminate time, and was woken up by Josh's boisterous eruption onto the back deck. "Uncle Dev!" he caroled, running over to the deck chair. "We fixed the stairs!"

"All of them?" Devon asked as he sat up.

"Yeah! I held the nails, and Frank pounded 'em in! Now they don't creak anymore!"

"That's wonderful, Joshie," he said truthfully. "Thank you for holding the nails. And thanks for fixing the stairs," he added to the handyman, who had walked onto the back deck much more quietly than his nephew.

"It's my job," Frank said again. 

"Yes. Come and have some lemonade, guys," Devon said, rising to his feet and going over to the table where the pitcher of lemonade and the plate of cookies was sitting. "You both deserve it for your good work."

Josh beamed, showing off the hole where his baby tooth had been as he grinned widely. Devon filled two glasses and handed them off to Frank and his nephew. "You want a cookie, Joshie?" he asked.

"Yesh!" was the enthusiastic reply.

He smiled and handed over a couple of homemade chocolate chip cookies. "There ya go."

The boy drank noisily from the glass, then began to stuff his face with cookies. Devon looked up at Frank, who was sipping at his glass of lemonade. "How is it?" Devon asked him. 

He nodded. "It's good. Haven't had fresh, homemade lemonade since I was a boy."

"Thanks. Would you like a cookie?"

"No, thanks, not just now. Still full from breakfast. But this hits the spot," he lifted the glass in his hand a little.

Devon felt a tightness on the skin of his chest. Looking down, he yelped in dismay when he saw that in spite of the sun block his skin was turning faintly red. "Darn it! It sucks to have skin this pale," he groused.

"The sun gets pretty intense here sometimes. People don't expect it," Frank drawled. "Because it's Montana. It doesn't feel as hot, so they don't realize that it's still pretty harsh."

"I'll put my shirt back on. Geez. Did you ever burn when you got that tan?" he asked the handyman.

Frank's lips turned up at one corner. "Not really. But I've been out in the sun whenever I could since I was a little kid. When you grow up in Montana, you get out whenever you can because the winters are so cold that you stay inside most of the time. And after I joined the Army, I was outside in all weathers. I just sort of naturally tanned."

Devon went and picked up his shirt from the deck chair, then pulled it on over his head. "Maybe if I come outside every day for just a little while, I might get a natural tan, too," he remarked.

"I'm not sure it'd look so good on you," Frank said.

Surprised, Devon turned to look at him. The handyman had an odd expression on his face. "What do you mean?" He asked cautiously.

He shrugged. "I guess I just mean that you look pretty good the way you are," he explained. 

Devon felt his heart lurch in his chest. "Uh, thank you." He said aloud, chiding himself mentally. Surely Frank didn't mean anything deeper with that remark? He was reading too much into it. 

"Some people look better with tans, some don't," Frank drawled. "I think you might look odd with a tan, that's all."

There. See? A perfectly innocuous remark, Devon pointed out to himself mentally. "You're probably right. My skin's too fair to tan well, I guess. I’m going to take some lemonade out to Amber.” he added. “You guys drink as much as you want. I’ll be back in a bit.”

 

He poured a glass of lemonade for his sister, and took it through the house and out to the front. He found her busily pulling up what he hoped were clumps of weeds, and not just overgrown flowers. She sat back on her heels and smiled at him as he handed her the glass of lemonade. "Thanks, Dev. I need it. It's starting to get a bit warm out here."

"Yeah. I did a bit of sunbathing, but I'm going to have to be careful. The sun is stronger here than I thought it would be. I was starting to burn."

"You have to be careful, with your fair skin," she teased, her eyes sparkling. 

He grimaced at her. "Don't remind me. Anyway, do you need any help here?"

"I'd say yes, but you don't know much about plants." his sister pointed out dryly.

He nodded. "I guess I'll go do some dusting or something, then. This house has dust bunnies the size of small dogs under the beds."

"Don't work too hard, Dev. Remember, we're on vacation here. Later on, let's go do something with Joshie. Maybe take a hike."

"Sounds good. I'll see you in a bit." He left her to her weed picking, and went into the house to dredge up some cleaning supplies so that he could dust everything in sight.

 

Later, in the early afternoon, Devon and Amber and Josh took a hike through the small patch of woods near the house. Frank had gone into town to get the seal for the leak in the kitchen sink, as well as some other supplies. Devon had made everybody soup and sandwiches for lunch. Their bellies were pleasantly full as they pottered along, enjoying the feel of the sun on their heads and the sight of birds and squirrels flittering through the trees. Josh became fascinated by some grasshoppers jumping in the long grasses, crouching down and giggling as he watched them hop around. 

"It's so beautiful here," Amber sighed. "I'd almost forgotten. We're not going to want to go home when summer's over, will we?"

"Probably not," Devon replied. "But civilization also has its perks. Like malls and fast food restaurants and lots of eligible men."

"You have a point about that last one," Amber conceded with a grin. "Sadly, Frank's the most eligible guy that I've seen around here."

Devon laughed. "Are you sure that he's not your type?" He teased.

She sighed. "The way my social life is going, he may just become my type really soon," she commented wryly.

When they got back to the house, they found Frank in the kitchen cleaning up his tools. "I replaced that seal," he said laconically. "It doesn't leak anymore."

"Oh, awesome!" Devon cried happily.

Josh scowled up at the handyman. "How come you didn't wait for me to come back and hold your tools?!" He demanded.

"Well, I wasn't sure when you were getting back. Besides, there's plenty of other things you can help me with. How about we go and check some of the sockets around the place, see how the wiring is? I can definitely use a helper to hold my tools for that."

Josh brightened up immediately. "All right!" He yelled. He trotted over and tried to pick up the tool box, but he couldn’t move it.

Amber hid a smile behind her hand as Frank walked over and picked the box up. "Come on, kid," he drawled. 

Josh trotted away after him as he left the kitchen. Devon and Amber just looked at each other, then both of them broke into nearly identical grins.   
Josh was so cute when he got all enthusiastic, and it was nice that Frank was indulging him. "Well, he’s good with kids," Devon pointed out to his sister. "And Joshie likes him."

She shook her head. "Please stop trying to throw me at the handyman, Dev. I'm not really ready to start dating again just yet. I'm still on the rebound after the divorce, and it wouldn’t be fair to any man to foist my bitter self on them."

Devon sobered. His eyes searched her face keenly, but she only lifted her shoulders. "I'm only a little bitter, don't worry," she said softly. "And I'll get over it. It's just...Carl dragging this thing on and on, just to punish me...that’s enough to make any woman bitter, and put her off guys for awhile. I'll recover, I just need some time. What I don't need is to throw myself on the only available man around, especially when I’m not particularly attracted to him."

"Got it," he replied seriously. "I won't tease you about it again, I swear."

"Thanks, Dev. Though I suppose I can understand - if Frank was gay, I'd probably be getting on your case about hooking up with him," she grinned. "So you can get over Thad."

He snorted. "I was over Thad the moment I kicked his finely-toned butt out of the apartment. Heck, I was over him months before I did that, actually."

She laughed. "I was right, you WERE just keeping him around for his looks, weren't you?!" she said, pointing an accusing finger at him.

He sighed, putting a hand to his chest. "Guilty as charged, Madam," he admitted ruefully. "Though it's a terrible thing to have to admit about yourself. To just keep a guy around for his looks...I feel so shallow."

“There are worse things to be, brother mine,” she replied with a grin. 

“Anyway, you and I can spend this summer commiserating and healing our broken hearts, and maybe by fall we’ll be ready to go back to civilization and find somebody new. Somebody better than the last guys that we had.”

“Here’s hoping,” Devon agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank's confession

The next few days passed peacefully. Devon pottered around cleaning the house, or taking long walks with his sister and nephew. Frank was in and out of the house, proving his worth as a handyman. Josh followed him everywhere, holding his tools and chattering away at him. Devon was amazed at the man’s patience with the child, and decided that Josh’s instincts had been right on the money once again. Frank was turning out to be a good guy, even if he was very quiet and a little reserved. And that just made Devon wonder what was going on under that rather blank face, as he tried to imagine what Frank was thinking as he went around doing his work. 

He was finding himself a little bit obsessed with their handyman, he wasn’t exactly sure why. Devon found his eyes following Frank as the man fixed the electrical outlets, or did plumbing jobs that needed doing, or weeded the flower bed. That last job had definitely upped Devon’s interest factor, due to the fact that Frank stripped off his shirt casually in the hot sun, and worked shirtless among the flowerbeds. That sight brought Devon to a screaming halt as he passed the front windows on his way to clean one of the downstairs bathrooms, and the little bucket of cleaning supplies was forgotten in his hand as he stood and ogled the handyman for all that he was worth.

Dear God, what a sight! Frank’s back was long and brown, the muscles rippling under the skin. His torso was long and lean but full of hard muscle, and dark brown hair was scattered over the sweating tanned surface. Devon saw several scars on his skin, white against the brown. He wondered what they were from, but only distantly. He was too busy trying to swallow the drool in his mouth without choking on it. Oh, man, it had been too long since he’d gotten laid! And when a prime specimen of manhood was not a hundred yards away, working shirtless, what could a respectable gay man do but leer? He sighed, a long drawn out exhalation, for his poor, frustrated libido. Maybe this summer wasn’t going to be as peaceful as he’d imagined it would, not with someone like Frank around…

He hurriedly looked away when Frank straightened up and glanced casually toward the windows. “Moving on, moving on,’ Devon thought as he forced his legs to work. He had a bathroom to clean. He might also lock himself in and get some ‘private time; with himself, with that image of a shirtless Frank Miller seared into the backs of his eyelids. He’d get the bathroom clean, and himself dirty.

He grinned at this thought as he made his way to the bathroom that he intended to scrub. If nothing else, the sexy handyman would make good masturbation fodder. 

 

Later on, he was making lunch in the kitchen when Frank walked in. Devon felt his breath catch, and had to deliberately compose his face into a pleasant but neutral expression. “Hey, Frank. How’s the garden?”

“Coming along,” the handyman replied laconically. “I wanted to ask you what kind of flowers I should plant to replace the ones I’m removing because they’re diseased or dead.”

Devon shook his head helplessly. “You’ll have to ask Amber,” he told   
Frank. “I don’t know a thing about it.”

A quirk of the long, lean mouth. “I’ll just do that,” Frank replied.

“I live in a city,” Devon blurted out, feeling defensive. “We have gardeners in my apartment complex who take care of the bushes and flowerbeds.”

Before Frank could comment on this statement, Josh burst through the door and came running over to the handyman. “Frank! Look what I made!” he yelled weaving a piece of paper around.

Frank took the paper deftly from his hand and studied it. “That’s pretty good,” he said. “You like painting, kid?”

Josh nodded enthusiastically as Frank handed him the paper back. “Yeah! Uncle Dev! Look at my painting!” and he carried it triumphantly over to the stove so that Devon could see it too. 

“This is nice, Joshie,” his uncle praised him. “Do you want to hang it on the fridge?”

“Can we?” the boy beamed happily.

“Sure. Right under this magnet,” Devon carried the finger painting over to the fridge and hung it up using a decorative magnet with a kitten on it. He looked at the stick figures on it. “Who is everybody, Joshie?” he asked.  
The boy came over and pointed out each one as he named them. “That’s me, and Mommy, and you, and Frank!” he cried, pointing to the last figure. It did, indeed, have a red square near its hand that could be a rudimentary tool box.

Devon smiled. “That’s awesome, Joshie. We’re going to eat lunch soon. Would you go and get your Mommy?”

“Okay!” the boy dashed out of the kitchen with the same energy he’d displayed when he’d darted into it a few minutes ago. Devon watched him go, still a trace of a smile on his lips.

He became aware that Frank was watching him. The handyman’s brown-hazel eyes were enigmatic. Devon couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all.   
“Thanks for being so patient with Josh these last few days, Frank,” he began.

A shake of the head. “I don’t mind. He’s a nice kid.”

“He really is, isn’t he? He’s always been a total sweetheart, ever since he was a baby. He smiled early on, and that’s been his default expression ever since,” Devon remarked.

“It’s nice to be around a kid again. My brother has two, but I barely ever get to see them now that he’s moved away.”

Devon threw him a sympathetic look. “That must be tough.”

“It is. Course, I barely ever got to see them when I was in the Army anyway, so nothing’s really changed,” Frank remarked with a shrug.

Devon felt an unholy need to pry into Frank’s personal life, though he knew he shouldn’t. It was none of his business. “Have you ever thought of having kids of your own?” he asked quasi-casually. 

“Not really. When I was overseas, I wouldn’t have wanted to leave my family behind worrying about what might happen to me. Now that I’m out, I have sort of a problem,” Frank began quietly.

“A problem?” Devon asked. ’What kind of problem?”

The handyman tilted his head to the side a little. His eyes were trained on Devon’s face. “This is a small town,” he began. “It’s really hard to find anybody I’m interested in. Somebody to actually have some kids with,” he explained. 

“Oh. I can see how that’d be difficult,” Devon agreed. “That’s one thing I like about the big city. So many possibilities. Let’s face it, in a place like this I’d be pretty hard up. I doubt that there are any other gay people in this town,” he pulled up short, casting a wary glance at Frank’s face. “Does it bother you…? That I’m gay, I mean?” he asked worriedly.

Frank shook his head. “That’d be stupid of me,” he drawled.

Devon’s brows drew together in puzzlement. “What?” he asked, baffled.  
Frank’s lips lifted in the very smallest and barest of smiles. “I’m gay, too,” he told a stunned Devon quietly.

 

Before he could recover from his utter shock at this confession, the door opened and Amber and Josh came into the kitchen. Devon tried to pull himself together and wipe the stunned expression off his face, but from the sharp glance that Amber sent his way he didn’t totally succeed. “Are you okay, Dev?” she asked him.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” he croaked. “Lunch will be ready in a jiffy,” he added, turning back to the stove. 

 

His mind was racing. Had that just been a really pleasant dream? Or had the utterly sexy handyman just admitted that he was gay? Had to be a dream. A really, REALLY good one, but a dream nonetheless…

 

Devon was glad to be left alone in the kitchen after lunch. Frank(with Josh   
and Amber in tow) had gone back to the flowerbeds. He was going to talk to Amber about what kind of flowers they should plant. Devon wiped the counter clean, his eyes blank. He was thinking about Franks’ confession once again, and he still couldn’t believe it. The man just didn’t seem like the type of guy who’d be gay! Of course that was stupid; it was just him stereotyping gay men, which was foolish since he happened to be one himself. He knew that the now-defunct ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ policy had been put into place because so many of those big, bad, hard-muscled warriors were gay. 

Well, what was he going to do with this information? Hurl himself on the man like a slavering psycho? Definitely not. But the temptation to do so was there, all right…he sighed, his mouth lifting at the corners in a sardonic smile. Sure, he was pretty attracted to Frank. But he couldn’t tell if Frank was interested in him in return, and even if he was was he interested enough to want to have some kind of fling with his employer? Because Devon was only going to be here for a little over two months more before he left to return home. Some men liked casual flings, but others did not. 

And did he, himself, want a casual fling with someone? Devon wasn’t sure.   
What he really wanted was a permanent relationship, a family. While a hot fling with a sexy handyman was a nice thought, it was a little too much of a bad gay romance. 

He sighed, shaking his head. This should be so much easier. When he’d been younger, it had been. Twenty something Devon wouldn’t have hesitated to throw himself on Frank like a starving wolf on a particularly tasty-looking elk, but that was then. Now, in his mid-thirties, his priorities were so different that he wasn’t sure that a casual fling was a good idea at all. God, why did people have to grow up? It had been So much more fun when he’d been young and wild…

He chuckled to himself, and decided not to think about this anymore right now. He wasn’t so hard up for sex that he was going to go right out and proposition Frank right away, anyway. He’d take his time thinking it over, and observing Frank at the same time. Although the man was a serious enigma. It was pretty hard to tell what he was thinking and/or feeling at any given time. Hell, his gaydar hadn’t even worked where the man was concerned! Frank muddled him up thoroughly. 

 

 

“Hey, Dev?” Amber’s voice asked.

He looked up from the book he was reading, and glanced over to the other deck chair where his sister was getting some sun. “What is it, Amber?”

She eyed him. “You’ve been acting kind of odd the last couple of days,” she said bluntly. “Something the matter?”

He sighed, laying his book across his stomach. “Not exactly,” he replied. “I’ve just got something on my mind.”

“What?”

He hesitated, but finally decided to tell her. “Frank’s gay,” he said.

Startled silence. “How do you know that?” Amber finally asked cautiously.

Devon snorted. “Because he told me himself. A couple of days ago.”

“Oh, my God. Really?” Amber said, sounding excited. 

He nodded. “Dev, that’s wonderful! When are you going to go for it?”

“I don’t know if I am or not,” he replied repressively.

“Why not?!” she demanded. “he’s totally your type! You said so yourself!”

“I know. But I don’t know that I want a casual fling with him, Amber. I’m worried..” he trailed off, shaking his head. “I’m worried that I might start to get too serious about him if I did, and that would break my heart. I’m not ready for a second broken heart in less than a year.”

“Oh,” she said, looking crestfallen. “I can see that. Totally. Frank’s the kind of guy you couldn’t help but get serious about. I’m sorry, Dev.”

“So am I,” he replied. “So am I, Amber.”

 

Before he could say anything else, Josh erupted onto the back deck with a gleeful cry and hurtled toward them. “Frank and me fixed the squeaky closet door in your room, Uncle Dev!” he cried brightly.

Devon gave him a ‘thumb’s up’ sign. “Good job, guys,” he told both Josh and Frank, who had emerged behind the boy. 

Josh beamed. “Frank let me oil the hinges!” he told his mother and uncle excitedly.

“Did he? How nice of him. Thank you, Frank, for letting Josh do that,” Amber said gratefully.

The handyman shrugged. “The boy did good,” he said laconically.

“I did good!” Josh cried, jumping up and down.

“Yes you did, Joshie,” Devon said with a smile. “We’re both so proud of you.”

The boy did a wild jig right then and there, while his mother smiled indulgently at him. Devon felt the weight of a stare, and lifted his eyes to meet Frank’s. Suddenly, he was completely breathless. Something that he saw in that direct gaze made his body surge and his heart beat wildly. Oh man, Devon thought with a gulp. I am SO screwed!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Devon talks himself out a summer fling with Frank. But nobody told Frank that...

Devon retreated in a dither out to the back porch. There, he paced up and down, running a hand over his hair. He muttered to himself: “So what that he’s gay? It doesn’t matter! This isn’t a good idea, Devon!”

He knew it wasn’t. In his stage of life, he wasn’t looking for a fuck buddy or a holiday fling. He’d done that, the casual sex, before this. He was SO over it! He wanted a long-term lover and a family. While Frank was decidedly hot, getting involved with him wasn’t a good idea at all. Because Frank lived here, and Devon lived somewhere else, and the most they’d have was two months before he flew home. And then he wouldn’t return until next summer, if that. Two months was just long enough for him to get too attached to someone like Frank, and then have his heart broken again when he had to leave. 

Because he wasn’t staying here! He liked Montana well enough, as a summer vacation destination. But he couldn’t imagine himself holed up here for the rest of his life, enduring harsh winters far away from the life and hubbub of the big city, from all his friends and co-workers. Nor could he imagine someone like Frank living in Los Angeles, not and be happy anyway. 

Okay, he was getting WAY ahead of himself. But he’d always been something of a worrier, and none of the futures he could imagine happening if he hooked up with Frank Miller had a happy ending. Sometimes it was better to just not start something, rather than go down the wrong road and end up in Heartbreak City once again. He’d spent far too much time there lately. He didn’t want a return trip.

He gave a frustrated snort and shook his head silently at himself. He was turning into such a drama queen. It was because he hadn’t gotten laid for so long. His hormones were going ballistic, and were duking it out with the sensible, reasonable part of his brain that kept yelling a warning at him. His cock didn’t care about the future. It just wanted to do its thing, and unfortunately like most men Devon had a hard time not giving in to its siren song. 

‘I am not going to have a summer fling just because you’ve got a case of blue balls,’ Devon thought at his groin sternly. ’So get that through your little head, buddy boy.’

His penis seemed to sniff in disgust, and he could almost hear the sulking coming from the direction of his shorts. Devon’s lips twitched at the image of his dick having a temper tantrum, laughing at his fanciful thoughts. Well, at least he still had a sense of humor about the whole thing. But he wondered if he’d still find it all humorous by the end of the summer, after spending two more months around their utterly sexy handyman. Probably not, he thought with a grimace. Probably not.

 

Much to his mingled relief and disappointment, Frank gave no sign of following up on that look(if it even had been a look; he wasn’t sure anymore)in the days that followed. He treated Devon just as he always had, with a cool politeness. He continued to fix things around the house, and work in the garden for two hours a day(except on weekends, his days off). Except for admitting that he was gay, he’d never mentioned anything else about his personal life. Devon told himself this was all for the best. It was too bad that he couldn’t quite get himself to actually believe that.

He was standing moodily by one of the big picture windows in the living room, hiding behind one of the curtains and surreptitiously watching Frank working in the garden, when a hand on his arm made him jump about a foot in the air and squeak in a very unmanly way.

“Relax, Dev, it’s just me,” Amber said by his elbow.

“You scared the crap out of me!” he hissed.

“Sorry,” she said apologetically. Her eyes went out to the garden. “Mooning over the handyman?” she asked him gently.

He sighed. “I’m pathetic, Amber,” he said sadly.

She looked at him curiously. “How so?”

He lowered his chin nearly to his chest and remarked gloomily: “Frank admitted to me that he’s gay,” he began.

It was Amber’s turn to squeak, in excitement. “He DID? He is?! Oh, that’s great, Dev!”

“Yeah, great,” he replied glumly.

“So what’s the problem?” she asked. 

“A couple of things. One, I freaked out the other day when I thought that he gave me the ‘look’, you know the one. The one that says I’m interested in you and I want to do you in every conceivable position imaginable. I ran outside and practically had a panic attack, imagining all of the future scenarios if I got involved with him. None of them turned out well. I didn’t know what I was going to do. Then, two…he never followed up on that ‘look’, if it even WAS ‘the look’. He just acts like he always has, never mentions anything or propositions me or ANYTHING!!” he cried in frustration. 

“Well, maybe he’s waiting for you to make the first move,” Amber pointed out logically. “Maybe he thinks the ball’s in your court now that he’s admitted he’s gay. Maybe he was just sort of feeling you out, and when you didn’t do anything he decided you weren’t interested and dropped the whole thing.”

His mouth fell open. He’d never even considered that possibility! He felt stupid and chagrined. “You could be right,” he acknowledged. “But the thing is…” he trailed off, then shrugged. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to show him that I’m interested anyway. I don’t want just a summer fling, Amber. Just a nice little affair, a friends-with-benefits situation. I’ve done that before, I’m not ready to do it again. I want a real boyfriend. A real relationship. A partner. Maybe even a husband and a family someday, if it works out. I don’t honesty see how Frank and I could ever be that for one another, can you? He lives here and I live in L.A., and I am NOT moving to Montana permanently!”

She stared at him. Then she sighed. “I can see what you’re saying, Dev,” she replied. “And I get it. At the beginning, when Carl and I were first married, it was wonderful. I know what you want, and I think you should have it. I’d like you to have a partner, too. The funny thing is - funny but sad - the person who’d benefit from a summer fling right now would be ME, not you!” she added with a wry quirk of her lips. 

“So we’re in completely opposite situations, but both of them are frustrating,” Devon remarked.

She nodded. “Oh, well. What else is new. I’m not going to suggest that you put aside what you want and just live a little, Dev. I know that it’d hurt you too bad if you hooked up with Frank and started having real feelings for him. And you’re not really the kind of person who can be casual about sex, anyway. You’re ready to give your heart away. I just hope that when you get back home you find someone great to give it to.”

He hugged her tightly. “Thanks, Amber,” he said, tears burning at the backs of his eyes. “I hope so too.”

 

After having that talk with his sister, Devon was a little more resigned to drooling over the handyman from a distance for the rest of the summer, without making any sort of move on him. While it wouldn’t be easy, he could do it. Amber was right. He was definitely ready to give his heart away, not just his body. He wanted more than great sex - he wanted everything. And he was willing to wait for what he wanted, for however long that took.

 

One day, a few weeks later, Devon was scrubbing out the sink in the kitchen. He liked doing housework, so this kind of thing soothed his soul. And he only did it for an hour or two each day, because he WAS still on vacation. The sink was taking only a glossy shine, which pleased his tidy housewife’s soul. 

The door to the kitchen opened. Thinking it was Amber, he remarked casually: “We need to go grocery shopping tomorrow. You want to drive into town with me?”

Silence, then a familiar voice drawled: “Sure. As long as we can take my truck.”

Devon whirled around, finding himself face-to-face with Frank Miller. He felt heat in his cheeks, and his heart began to pound wildly. It and his groin didn’t care in the least that his attraction to this man was illogical and probably wouldn’t end up going anywhere. Besides…oh, Dear God…clearly Frank had been out working in the garden. He wasn’t wearing a shirt! Sweat glistened on his tanned skin, shimmering on the hard, sculpted muscles covered with that brown expanse. His body hair was only a few shades darker than his tan, and droplets of sweat sparkled on that light covering of fur. Devon felt his mouth go dry and his cock spring to life with a vengeance. He gulped heavily, barely able to swallow anymore, as he stared helplessly at a living wet dream.

Frank simply gazed at him, but Devon saw his eyes take in the color swarming in Devon’s cheeks. Then they slowly dropped lower, to the outline of the bulge clearly visible at his groin. He wanted to groan and cover himself with his hands, but it was too late. The handyman’s eyes came back to his, and the gleam in their depths made a shudder pass through him.   
Devon struggled to speak, but no words would come out. His mouth opened and closed like a landed fish’s. He was like the village idiot, but he couldn’t help it. All of the blood had left his brain and had traveled southward. 

Frank took a step toward him. Devon would have taken one back, but his butt was against the sink and there was nowhere to go. He could only stand there and watch as Frank walked slowly toward him, stripping off the gloves he’d been wearing to pull weeds. His big, strong hands were reaching out, and Devon squeaked but stood utterly still as they settled on his upper arms.

“Tell me to stop, and I will,” Frank said softly. His eyes never left Devon’s.  
How could he do that?! How could he speak at all?! His mouth opened, but it was merely a silent invitation, not a precursor to speech. Frank seemed to understand that. He leaned forward, his head bending a little, and then his lips closed over Devon’s. In that moment, in that second, he was lost. Completely and utterly lost.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Devon sitting in a tree...

Devon moaned as Frank’s mouth covered his in a deep, long kiss. The man’s lips were firm and warm, and his tongue invaded Devon’s mouth and took it over. Big hands cradled his waist and held him in place as Frank plundered his mouth, and their groins rubbed together erotically as the kiss went on and on. Devon’s arms found their way around Frank’s neck automatically and he clung helplessly as his mouth was devoured in an imitation of the sex act itself. 

He panted wildly when Frank finally lifted his head. Devon felt so weak it was a wonder his legs didn’t give out. He half-leaned against Frank’s hard, shirtless, sweaty torso, his whole body on fire with lust. The handyman could have thrown him down and done him right here on the kitchen table and he wouldn’t have protested. In fact, that sounded hot. Really, really hot.   
“Urgle,” he managed to croak, which wasn’t very coherent. 

Frank’s lips lifted in a slight smile. “That was a hell of a kiss,” he said softly. 

Devon nodded helplessly. “I…” he began, finally getting his voice back under control, “It was. Damn it,” he added, shutting his eyes and shivering a little. “I didn’t want this to happen.”

“Why not?” Frank asked, his thumbs gliding over Devon’s skin where they’d wormed their way under the t-shirt he was wearing. 

“B-Because…I think you’re incredibly hot, Frank,” he said, opening his eyes, “But I don’t want just a summer fling. I just broke up with my boyfriend, and I’m not looking for casual sex right now. Not that you can tell that by the way I’m acting,” he went on ruefully. “I’m sorry.”

Frank’s eyes studied his face seriously. “I’m not much into casual sex, either,” he told Devon gravely. “When I was in the Army, it was an incredibly bad and dangerous idea. And around here, of course, even finding partners to have casual sex with is just about impossible. But this doesn’t just have to BE casual sex, now does it?”

Devon sighed, lowering his head. He stared at Frank’s bare chest(which was a sight NOT conducive to logical thought processes!). “No, it doesn’t. But the problem with that is - where do we go at the end of the summer, if we’ve really started to have feelings for each other? I live in Los Angeles, and believe me I’m not the kind of person who would want to live in Montana year-round. I HATE the cold and snow,” he added with a visible shudder. “I’d never make it through the winter here. And correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re not really the kind of guy who’d be happy in a place like L.A., right?”

Silence, as Frank pondered his words. Devon swallowed heavily, watching a trickle of sweat run down Frank’s chest from his nipple to his abdominal muscle. He wanted to lick that trail, to follow it with his tongue. He groaned softly, wanting to beat his head against the counter over and over. He was such a sex starved idiot! He really needed to get his BIG head back in the game, and stop letting the little head make all of the decisions here! 

Finally, Frank began quietly: “First off, we don’t know that we’ll come to be serious about each other. We might find out that we’re not compatible. If that’s so, at least we’ll have some nice sex to look back on when you leave,” he pointed out to Devon. “And if we DO find out we’re right for each other, there’s a thing called ‘compromise’. I’m not really keen on Montana winters anymore, either, not after spending so many years in hot climates in the Army. I could survive in California for the worst of the winter months, and you could come live with me - or in this house - during the late spring, summer, and fall. That way we’d avoid the worst of the heat AND the cold. Now that sounds logical enough, doesn’t it?”

Devon finally lifted his head. He stared up at Frank, blinking. “I…you’re right,” he conceded. “I could work it out with my bosses so that I could commute or work on-line if I had to for a few more months of the year. And I’d LOVE to escape the worst of the summer heat,” he went on with a grimace. “And I must admit it’s really beautiful around here. That does sound like a good compromise, Frank,” he admitted.

The handyman nodded. “There you go. Problem solved. A problem which might not come up anyway, as I said. So do you want to try a little semi-casual sex with me and see where it goes?”

Devon nodded happily. “Sounds great,” he said, his eyelids lowering a little in what he hoped was a seductive look.

Frank’s own eyes narrowed and filled with a look of predatory heat that made Devon’s stomach muscles tighten and his groin surge. But just as Frank lunged forward to grab a hold of him and get something very hot and sexy started, a small figure darted into the kitchen and yelped: “Hi, Uncle Dev! Hi, Frank! We’re back!!!”

 

Frank jumped back like his ass was on fire, and Devon jumped too, guiltily. His face flamed as his nephew’s innocent eyes took in the two flushed and uncomfortable men standing in the kitchen together. “Whatcha doin?” he asked.

“Uh, nothing! Frank was just…uhh…showing me something!”

Devon squeaked, his brain too addled to come up with as better excuse.  
“What was it? Can I see?” Josh asked hopefully. 

Frank let out a chuff of laughter as a horrified Devon replied hurriedly: “No, Joshie, it was…sort of an adult thing.”

Josh’s face fell. “Oh. We got ice cream!” he said, brightening and changing the subject, much to Devon’s acute relief. 

“That’s great. We’ll have some after we eat lunch,” Devon told him.

Josh nodded and darted back out again, to help his mom carry in the groceries. Especially the ice cream. Devon looked helplessly at Frank, whose lips were twitching visibly. “It’s not funny,” he groused, folding his arms over his chest and pouting.

“Yes, it is,” Frank replied, looking even more amused. 

Devon tried to pout some more, but couldn’t quite make it. His sense of humor revived, and he grinned. “I suppose it was. I guess this means we can’t do anything during the day, not with Josh running around the place and following at your heels all of the time. We’ve got to be more careful from now on.”

Frank nodded in agreement. “How do you want to swing this, then?” he asked Devon. I don’t stay here at night, after all.”

He hadn’t thought of that. Devon’s mind raced as he tried to think of a time when he and Frank could have some privacy to try out that ’not-so-casual’ sex. But he couldn’t come up with much; Josh was almost always around, since he and Frank were friends and the boy loved to follow the handyman around. And Frank didn’t live here, so the nights were out as well. He groaned. “This might be kind of difficult,” he said unhappily. 

Frank considered the problem, but before he could speak Amber swept into the kitchen at Josh’s heels, carrying grocery bags. “Hi, guys!” She called cheerfully. “How’s the garden coming, Frank?”

“Pretty good, Amber. I’ve started planting the new flowers,” Frank told her gravely, as Devon turned away to hide his expression from his perceptive sister. 

“That’s great. I’ll have to come out and look at them in a bit. Hey, Dev, we got everything you asked for,” she added, carrying the bags over to the counter.

“That’s good,” he said, turning back now that his face was under control. “I’ll help you put it all away.”

“Okay. Frank, would you take Joshie out and show him the flowerbeds? “Amber asked. 

“Sure thing. Come on, kid,” Devon heard Frank say. He sighed as he took food out of the bags.

“Something wrong, Dev?” He heard Amber ask in concern.

He shrugged. But she wouldn’t be put off. “What’s going on, Dev?” she asked after a moment, sternly.

He looked up at her. It was clear from her expression that he wouldn’t be able to blow her off. “Well, if you must know, Frank just kissed me. Before you guys came home.”

She gaped at him. “He…kissed you?! Oh, my God, Dev! What’d you do?”

He rolled his eyes. “What any smart gay guy does when kissed by a hot guy. I kissed him back,” he replied tartly.

“But…what about what you were saying? About not just wanting a summer fling?”

He told her Frank’s reply to his objections, and she looked delighted. “That’s wonderful, Dev. And he’s right. So when are you two gonna…?” she waggled her eyebrows in a lascivious manner. 

He groaned. “I don’t know! We were just getting a bit hot and heavy when Josh ran in. We can’t try to have sex during the day, Amber, not with your impressionable son running around at Frank’s heels. And he doesn’t live here at night, so…”

“Ooo, that is a problem. Still, why don’t you just ask him to stay the night here from now on? We’ll tell Joshie that you’re heaving a ‘sleepover’,” she went on with a sparkling grin.

He hesitated. “Are you sure that’ll be okay? With you, I mean? What if Josh figured out what’s going on?”

“Then we tell him the truth that a seven-year-old can understand, that Uncle Dev likes Frank and that’s why they like to kiss each other. He already knows that you like other boys, after all. He wasn’t unhappy when ’Uncle Thad’ left - he never liked him - but he understood that YOU did. Hell, he’ll probably be happy that his new friend and his uncle are getting along so well,” she added with a snort. 

Devon felt relief race through him. Her hadn’t wanted to start anything with Frank if he didn’t have Amber’s blessing, because he didn’t want his nephew getting upset if he ever saw the two of them kissing or hugging. But he supposed that Josh wouldn’t wig out, because he’d sometimes seen Devon kissing Thad, and he’d been perfectly fine with it after his mommy explained that Uncle Devon liked boys instead of girls. He couldn’t wait to tell Frank, and ask the handyman to stay the night! He was definitely looking forward to this type of ‘sleepover’, most definitely!


End file.
